Houston recruit Bryce Peters to give Colorado State another physical running back

Peters feels his approach is perfect fit for the Rams.

Apr. 16, 2013

Cypress Falls High School running back Bryce Peters (21) goes over the top of a pile of opponents and teammates on a run during a game against Cy Creek at Pridgeon Stadium in Houston on Sept. 16, 2011. / Smiley N. Pool/Houston Chronicle

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Bryce Peters file

• Height: 5-10 • Weight: 205 • Position: Running back • Hometown: Houston • High school: Cypress Falls • Notable: Ran for 340 yards on 15 carries in one game, setting a school record. … Ran for 1,660 yards and 19 touchdowns as a high school senior and for 1,189 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior. … First-team all-district selection as a junior and senior. … Runs the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds and has run the 400 meters in track in 48 seconds. … Rated one of top 100 recruits in the region by the Houston Chronicle. … Rated a three-star prospect by ESPN and Rivals.com and a two-star prospect by Scout.com.

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Bryce Peters still has to finish high school before he comes to CSU this summer, but the running back from Houston already has a little bit of Ram in him, his high school coach said.

"He's a battering ram," said Kirk Eaton, the coach at Cypress Falls High School. "He's as good a runner inside the tackles as I've ever seen, but then he has 4.4-(second) speed (in the 40-yard dash)."

Peters, one of two running backs in Colorado State University's 2013 signing class, ran for 340 yards on just 15 carries in a single game last season and finished the year with 1,653 yards and 19 touchdowns while averaging 9.5 yards a carry. Peters, 5-foot-10 and 205 pounds, was named one of the top 100 recruiting prospects in the region by the Houston Chronicle, and chose CSU over a list of more than a dozen suitors, including Army, Iowa State, Louisiana Tech, Miami (Ohio), New Mexico and UTEP.

Although he originally committed to Texas State, Peters said he knew CSU was where he belonged after making an official visit in January, just a couple of weeks before national signing day. He made an immediate connection, he said, with fellow recruit Jake Schlager, a safety from McCook, Neb., and his host, junior kicker Jared Roberts. And he felt like his power running style would be a perfect fit for the one-back, pro-style offense of CSU coach Jim McElwain.

"They're run first, and the formations they run, I think I'll fit in perfect for it," Peters said.

Peters was a varsity player for all four years of high school, a rarity in the highly competitive Class 5A district that Cypress Falls plays in, Eaton said. All 10 schools in the district have more than 3,000 students.

Peters ran for 620 yards and seven touchdowns as a sophomore and for 1,189 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior. He fell just 214 yards shy of the school's career rushing record, a mark Eaton said he would have easily reached had he not played on such dominant teams. Eaton said he often took Peters out of games by halftime to avoid running up the score.

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"I was really impressed, obviously, with what Bryce did on film," McElwain said Tuesday. "He played in an unbelievable league and produced yards, and that's a hard thing to do out of that league."

Peters had four touchdowns runs of 70 or more yards last fall, including a 94-yarder.

"I would say I'm a power runner, but with speed," Peters said. "I'm not really jukish or anything like that. Just one cut and go."

Still, Eaton said, his first instinct when he broke into the clear was to find a defensive back to run over on his way to the end zone. He was the ideal back to have, Eaton said, when you were protecting a lead and needed to wear down an opposing defense.

"He can handle a lot of carries, he doesn't fumble, and he likes to punish defenses," Eaton said.

The Rams have five legitimate running backs this spring in senior Chris Nwoke and sophomores Donnell Alexander, Davon Riddick, Tommey Morris and Kapri Bibbs, the other running back in the 2013 signing class.

Peters isn't worried about that kind of competition. In fact, he embraces it.

"It just makes the experience a lot better knowing that you have to go in there and fight for the position, and it won't just be there for you," he said.

And if Peters is the best back among them, McElwain said he won't hesitate to play him right away.

"I have no idea what kind of backs they have, but they better be working, because I promise you he is," Eaton said. "… Bryce is working nonstop, that's what kind of work ethic he has. He watches what he eats, he's very mature in that sense. So he's going to show up at Colorado State in the best shape you can imagine."